


Transfer from Ilvermorny

by vamplamp



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Bisexual Jace Wayland, Gryffindor Jace Wayland, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff Alec Lightwood, Hufflepuff Simon Lewis, Pansexual Simon Lewis, Ravenclaw Isabelle Lightwood, Slytherin Magnus Bane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-03 20:51:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14004510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vamplamp/pseuds/vamplamp
Summary: Hogwarts AU - Simon transfers to Hogwarts at the start of 5th year and struggles to handle the move to a new school and country alongside meeting Jace, a Gryffindor, who for some reason doesn't act like the same person when there are people around to judge.





	1. Chapter 1

Simon pulled his coat tighter around himself and turned his collar up against the cold, when people said that England wasn’t exactly warm he didn’t think they meant it was 49 degrees and windy in September. He grabbed a trolley with gloved hands and swung his trunk up onto it before pushing it in forwards and heading into King’s Cross. The place was swarming with no-mags’, it was a little overwhelming. Simon wove his way through the crowd and located a map, he stared at it for a few moments, frowning slightly, before it was plucked out of his grasp, flipped the other way round and put back, now the correct way up. He flushed, embarrassed and looked up at whoever had helped him. Simon’s eyes widened. The guy was exactly his type: messy blond hair, muscled build, that goddamn leather jacket and those eyes… those eyes, that were looking at him expectantly. Oh shit, the guy had said something while Simon had just stood there and gaped like an idiot.   
‘What did you say?’ His accent suddenly felt awkward and clumsy now that he was surrounded by British people and neither his mum nor sister were around. The blond guy smirked, ‘I said, you’ll never find the platform if your map is upside-down. So I thought I’d help you out to save you worrying your pretty head about it.’   
The guy spoke with an American accent but some of his words had a slightly British edge to them. Desperately trying ignore the steadily deepening redness in his cheeks, he finally looked beyond the guy face and noticed the trunk and owl cage he was dragging behind him. A Hogwarts student, perfect, at least this way he would be sure not to miss the train on his first day at a new school.   
‘Could you show me how to get to the platform by any chance? I’m new and I heard that there’s some strange thing about running through a wall. I’m not quite sure why though, in America we just gather in the basements of abandoned schools and get transported to Ilvermorny without having to wait long at all. It works like vanishing cabinets you see there’s… I’m sorry, I’ve been talking for far too long. I’ll just shut up now…’ Simon rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously as hot-blond-guy simply starred at him like he was caught halfway between amusement and awe.   
Just as the extended eye contact started to get awkward the boy was distracted by two people hurrying through the crowd towards them.   
‘Hey Jace!’ The guy called out, pushing his dark hair back from his face, he passed off his trolley to his sister (Simon assumed from the matching hair colour and facial resemblance) and launched himself forward and into a hug with hot-blond-dude, wait no Jace, as both of them grinned.   
‘God I’ve missed you guys! How was home? Alec, I can’t believe you got a place on the Team USA U18s squad!’ The two boys finally stepped apart only for Jace to immediately be swept up into a hug by the girl. The boy, Alec (Simon presumed) spotted Simon behind Jace and immediately dropped the smile from his face and raised an eyebrow. ‘Who’s your friend?’   
‘New kid, I think,’ Jace answered, still smiling from ear to ear he realised the girl and turned back towards Simon, ‘I was just about to help him on to the platform wasn’t I…’ Jace stumbled as he clearly realised he had no clue what Simon’s name was.  
‘Simon, Simon Lewis,’ he quickly jumped in when the three of them all turned to look at him expectantly.   
‘I’m Isabelle Lightwood, call me Izzy, this here is my older brother Alec and the guy who is clearly attempting to seduce you before he even knows your name is Jace. So, what brings an American like yourself to switch schools half way through his education?’   
Simon decided that it was incredibly unfair on him that the first three Hogwart’s students he’d interacted with were devastatingly attractive, ‘well my parents are no-mags-‘  
‘They’re called muggles here,’ Jace chimed in helpfully,  
‘-and my mum got a new job over here so me, her and my sister all moved to Kingston as a family. They aren’t here though because Windsor is too far from here and we just moved so they didn’t have time to come over and wave me off. It’s okay though, we said goodbye before I left.’ Simon pushed his glasses up his nose and smiled a little awkwardly. Izzy smiled back at him before spinning around in a whirlwind of glossy hair,   
‘Onwards to platform 9 and ¾ it is then. Fingers crossed we make it before Jace drools a small lake onto the floor. I love you J but you are utterly useless around adorable boys.’ Alec rolled his eyes but Simon could definitely see a slight quirk to his mouth.  
‘Come sit with us Simon, it’s nice to have another fellow American about,’ ‘Okay,’ Simon smiled at Izzy but also to himself, he’d been so worried about being all alone as the new kid and wasn’t sure how he’d survive being outcast from already formed friend groups. They found an empty compartment and Jace flung himself out across the length of one of the seats, stretching out before slipping his shoes off and sitting up into a more usual fashion. Izzy and Alec both slid down onto the opposite side leaving the reasonable choice for Simon to sit next to Jace. Trying not to focus too much on the way Jace’s swinging socked foot was repeatedly brushing against his leg, Simon watched as Alec pulled a yellow and black scarf from his bag and wrapped it around his neck. ‘I’m sure it wasn’t this cold last year, I hope they get the engine started up soon.’ ‘Agreed,’ Izzy blew some warm air into her hands.  
‘The yellow on that scarf? It’s a house colour isn’t it? How do the houses work here? Is there any way to know how I’ll be sorted?’ Simon was particularly anxious about this as he hadn’t really got on with the other students in his Ilvermorny house even if he did technically fit the profile. ‘At Ilvermorny I was a Pukwudgie if that gives you any clues…’  
‘Jace sat forward in his seat. ‘Well I’m a Gryffindor, Izzy is a Ravenclaw and believe it or not Alec over there is a Hufflepuff. Don’t worry though, the Sorting Hat never gets it wrong.’ There was a soft edge to Jace’s voice that Simon hadn’t heard him use on the walk to the train, it was like all the amusement was gone and Jace truly wanted to assure Simon that it would be alright. Simon smiled at him in thanks though Jace’s seriousness didn’t last long and he suddenly grinned, ‘Though of course Gryffindor is the BEST and we are totally going to destroy you all in the house cup this year!’   
‘We will see about that, Mr BraveHeart,’ Simon looked up at the new voice to see a boy stood in the doorway of the compartment, his black and green scarf matching the green tips that decorated the ends of his hair at the front.   
‘Magnus!’ Alec leapt out of his chair with a dopey smile that, despite having only know him for about 45 minutes, Simon knew he didn’t wear often and wrapped the newcomer up in a crushing hug.   
‘Alexander,’ Magnus smiled into Alec’s shoulder and held the other boy tightly.


	2. Chapter 2

‘Get a room!’ Jace called out as they pulled out of the hug and Magnus pressed a kiss to Alec’s lips. It was a simple act and clearly not an unusual site but it made Simon insanely happy to find out he wouldn’t have to hide his sexuality here, it would be a damn shame if he had to spend the next three years pretending he was straight. Magnus and Alec slid back down onto the seat but their hands stayed clasped together between them. ‘If you could drag yourself out of my brother’s eyes Mags then perhaps you could introduce yourself to the lost puppy Jace picked up. Simon meet Magnus, Alec’s boyfriend, Magnus meet Simon, 5th year transfer from Ilvermorny.’   
‘Wonderful to meet you,’ Magnus reached his free hand across the compartment and Simon shook it,   
‘Likewise,’ they dropped hands and Magnus and Alec immediately went back to looking into each other’s eyes whilst they started to talk about their respective summers in low voices. Simon felt his eyes being to droop as the train began to head out of the station. It was only just gone 11 but he’d barely slept the last three nights due to his anxiety over starting at Hogwarts, he was still incredibly nervous but something about these four kids made him significantly calmer. He bunched up the spare sweatshirt from his bag and took off his glasses before curling up in the corner of the compartment and letting himself drift off.  
He woke up to the feeling of something that most definitely wasn’t the wall of the compartment pillowing his head. He jerked upright and looked down at a shoulder, a human shoulder. Oh god Jace, Jace’s shoulder. Fumbling his glasses out of his pocket he sheepishly looked up to see Jace smiling down and him almost affectionately.   
‘Come on, we’re almost at Hogsmeade. We’d best get changed into our robes,’ they both stood up and Simon froze as Jace leaned in closer, ‘and don’t worry about the sorting, as much as I’d love for you to join me, I’m almost sure you’ll be a Puff.’ Jace leaned in closer but when they were just inches apart he shifted to the side and pulled the blinds down over the compartment door. Izzy, Alec and Magnus were all already in their robes so it was just Jace and him who were struggling in the small compartment while Izzy waited outside for them to be done. The black of the neutral robes were nothing like the blue and red they wore at home but Simon found himself liking them anyway. They soon pulled into the station and the noise of students moving quickly filled the train.  
Together their group headed out and onto the platform.   
‘First years and new students this way please!’ A half-giant called out from one end of the platform.   
‘That’s you,’ Jace looked reluctant to be walking the opposite direction, ‘don’t worry I’ll definitely be making sure to see you around.’ With a wink he was gone into the throng of students leaving Simon to head towards the small group of older kids that were hanging on the edge of the huge crowd of first years.  
During that slightly over-dramatic boat trip across the lake below the castle that apparently ‘every new student’ had to do, Simon learned that the other new students included Raphael, a moderately grumpy 6th year; a 7th year called Maia and a friendly Red-headed 5th year named Clary. Simon immediately clicked with Clary and it was nice to talk to a fellow New Yorker even if she had been moving around Europe almost constantly for the past 6 years. The castle was incredible, even if the lake trip was meant mostly for the 10-11 year old first years. Even Raphael went quiet for a moment as they all looked up at it awestruck. It was around then that the nerves began to set in again, the sorting ceremony was soon. Oh god, what if he got put in the wrong house? What if he couldn’t make any friends in his classes? What if he embarrassed himself in front of the entire school and no one ever forgot it for the rest of his life? His head swarmed with questions and he steadily got more and more nervous all the way up into the castle, into the Great Hall and through the whole of the first years sorting ceremony. Clary went first from their little group of new students and after a few moments of waiting Simon looked on enviously as she sat down near Jace at the Gryffindor table. His legs shook as he made his way up towards the stool and the sorting hat was placed on his head, he could feel the eyes of the school on him. ‘Oooh an interesting one for sure, certainly brave but smart too and loyal so very loyal. I know just where to put you, HUFFLEPUFF!’  
Simon relaxed a little and headed towards the table that immediately started cheering loudly when his house was called, he could see Alec clapping from where he was sat slightly further up the table. Hufflepuff was good, he could be in Hufflepuff, Alec had seemed nice enough and all the people around him were smiling genuinely in his direction. He sat with a slight smile on his face and watched as Raphael was sorted into Slytherin and Maia into Gryffindor. The feast itself was magnificent, easily on a par with the food they had at Ilvermorny and Simon ate tons of it, starving due to having not eaten since that morning because of nerves. The other 5th year Hufflepuffs were nice but Simon really hoped that houses mingled here as much as they did at Home. He tried not to look too wistful as he watched Jace introduce himself to Clary over at the Gryffindor table, though he’s pretty sure he failed to look anything but.


	3. Chapter 3

The Hufflepuff common room was wonderful, the cosiest space he’d ever been in by far. A 4th year girl, Maureen, happily showed him how to slip through the back of Cedric Diggory’s portrait and into the kitchens, where the best WIFI connection was (on the rug directly in front of the fire) and pointed out how to reach the boys dormitories. Simon marvelled at the walls that were covered in flags; they varied from house pride to helpful revision guides to different LGBT+ pride flags. The room was full of colour and life, nothing like his old common room at Ilvermorny. Simon grinned and walked through to the dormitories with the other boys to start unpacking his stuff.   
Classes soon started and Simon was kept incredibly busy with trying to figure out the similarities and differences between the American and British schools and studying up on all the things that he hadn’t covered yet. He quickly impressed the majority of his teachers though he did manage to give the teachers desk fur and a tail when someone jogged his wand during Transfiguration which was highly embarrassing. Jace seemed to almost constantly be around, which wasn’t realistic considering only about half of their lessons were shared, he’d slide into the next chair over whenever it was empty with winks and cheesy one liners. It was kind of sad though, despite all of the other boy’s clearly false bravado, the sweet boy that Simon had first met at King’s Cross had all but disappeared and left in its place an obnoxious flirt who loved the sound of his own voice. Maybe Jace wasn’t the boy he’d originally thought? This new person certainly wasn’t someone he enjoyed being around but somehow they seemed to end up trading banter on an almost daily basis, even when Simon was actively trying to avoid the other boy. Though half of their ‘conversations’ just consisted of Jace flirting loudly and Simon attempting to shut him down. Loud, over-confident people just weren’t his type and almost always made him feel incredibly overshadowed. Simon had almost forgotten the boy from the train until he was walking down an empty hallway early one morning and heard the sweet rhythm of music drifting from a half-closed door. Quietly, he moved up against the wall so he could see into the room and get a look at whoever was playing. A huge grand piano stood in the far corner and behind it, with his back to Simon, sat Jace. His robe was thrown over a nearby chair and his shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows; Simon watched, transfixed as long fingers danced across the piano keys. It’d been so long since Simon had heard live music that he let himself drift with it as he leant up against the doorframe and closed his eyes. The tune was beautiful and as the final notes drifted to quiet and they left a strange sense of melancholy in the air. Simon leant his head against the doorframe and, SHIT, knocked his glasses onto the floor. The obnoxiously loud clatter caused Jace to stand up abruptly and spin around, he looked like he’d been caught doing something far more incriminating than playing the piano.   
‘I…I…I was just mucking around… I don’t… It’s not…’ Jace grabbed his robe off the chair and quickly pulled it on, not even pausing to roll his shirt sleeves back down.   
‘Hey,’ Simon smiled, ‘it’s alright, I play guitar. Well I played guitar, I didn’t have room to bring it here with me so mostly I just play in the summers.’  
Jace instantly relaxed, the panic left his eyes and he stopped looking like an animal who was about to flee. ‘You do? I think there might be an old guitar in the back somewhere but I’m not sure, I only play piano.’ They shared a smile and Simon stepped into the room, hovering awkwardly. He wanted to search the room for the possible guitar but when he looked into Jace’s eyes he knew that he might be on his way to talking to the boy from the train again and he didn’t want him to get buried before it could be helped. Instead Simon sat down on a chair and put his elbows on the table, ‘Would you play something? It’s been a while since I’ve listened to live music just for the enjoyment.’ Jace nodded and smirked to himself a little as he sat down but Simon didn’t miss the way his eyes flitted downwards self-consciously. He closed his eyes and allowed the music to wash over him as Jace played, it was wonderfully relaxing and the tension that had been built since he’d first learned him and his family would be moving to England finally slipped away, it was blissful.   
When Jace finished playing he looked over and smiled at Simon, he had fallen asleep on the table arms folded under his head. Jace stood up quietly and slid the glasses carefully off the other boy’s nose from where they’d been knocked askew and placed them carefully on the table next to him. He quickly tore the corner off a spare piece of parchment in his pocket and grabbed a quill and ink off a nearby shelf, he scribbled a quick note to leave behind. He hesitated slightly before he folded the parchment once and left it sitting on the table in front of the Simon and slipped quietly out the door.  
Simon woke slowly, scrubbing a hand up and down his face and smoothing his hair slightly. He grabbed his glasses off the table and looked around only to realise that Jace was no longer in the room and the light coming through the skylights was the red-orange of sunset. He picked a hastily folded piece of parchment off the table, hoping it was the note he thought it was. A grin spread across his face as he read it:  
‘Nice to know my music is relaxing, even if I wasn’t intending it to be so boring that it sends people to sleep. We should do this again sometime Lewis, maybe you could show me those guitar skills of yours?’  
It might not amount to anything but it made Simon’s heart swell to know that there was definitely more to Jace than the terrible flirting he’d been serenaded in for the past month and a half. He stood up and headed out the door and towards the dining room in the hope of catching the end of dinner, but not before carefully refolding the note and slipping it safely into side-pocket of his satchel.  
For the next few weeks, that little music room on the corridor in a near-abandoned corner of the second floor became like a safe-haven for Simon. He found an old guitar in one of the cupboards and spent his time carefully restoring and tuning it. It probably took a little longer than it should have though because more often than not Jace was there too and he’d play piano until Simon couldn’t focus on the guitar anymore and instead just closed his eyes and listened to the music. It was nothing more than that, for a while, they just shared the room in a pleasant companionship and Simon was okay with that. Yes, Jace was attractive and yes, he still flirted in a staggeringly overconfident manner whenever they were outside their music room but Simon wouldn’t say that he had anything more than a casual crush on the other boy and he was perfectly content with just being friends. That was until the start of November when ‘slight crush’ feelings cascaded into ‘oh no, how did I not notice I was falling head over heels for this boy’ feelings, he tried his best not to panic. It didn’t really work.  
So basically the two of them were sat like normal, Jace playing the piano and Simon leaning on his hands and listening when Jace stood up and performed a spell to keep the tune playing on its own. Simon raised an eyebrow questioningly but Jace simply smiled softly and reached a hand out towards him. Simon took it, still confused, until Jace leaned forward and whispered in his ear,   
‘Dance with me?’ and began to sway. Simon froze up for a moment before thinking something along the lines of ‘why the hell not?’ and joined in with the movement. They slowly spun around the small room, getting closer and closer through each circuit, with anyone else the eye-contact would’ve been far too intense but with Jace it was easier to hold each other’s gaze because there was no expectations to be found there, no hidden intentions or lies shrouded by blanket statements. They danced around the room for a while, Jace spinning Simon a few times until the spell ran dry and the song came to an end. Jace’s hair shone gold in the dwindling sunlight as he gathered up his bag and pulled on his robe.  
‘See you tomorrow Puff,’ Simon froze as Jace leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek before turning and heading out of the room. He was so screwed.


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, so Simon had come to terms with the fact that he was well on his way to falling completely in love with this boy, he couldn’t convince himself otherwise anymore. The thing that he didn’t know was how the hell Jace felt. The guy seemed to flip-flop more than an actual flip-flop. When they were alone he was sweet and even teasingly flirty (though they never danced again) but whenever someone other than his siblings was around he slipped immediately into his ‘bad boy’ skin and spent most of his time around Simon loudly flirting to the point where he was convinced that their entire friendship was just one big practical joke.  
‘I just don’t know what to do Clary!’ he whined, dropping his head down onto his DADA textbook where it sat on the table. He and Clary had grown pretty close since they met at the start of the year and they were currently sat together at the Hufflepuff table and eating breakfast before their shared potions class early that morning. ‘When we’re alone and I look in his eyes I’m sure he wants the same thing as me but other times I’m convinced he’s faking the entire thing for his own entertainment.’   
‘Please,’ Clary rolled her eyes, ‘that boy is totally into you. He’s never talked about you to me but everyone can’t help but see the blatant heart eyes he throws your way whenever you’re not looking. It’s sickeningly cute. You should just ask him out before you overthink it.’   
‘Are you crazy? What if he says no? I’d never be able to face him again, I’m not sure I can live without our music room.’   
‘If he says no then firstly, I will expect a complete 3,000 word essay as to why because you are the most adorable person in existence and secondly, the two of you can just be mature about it and continue to share your little music hidey hole the same way you always have.’ She took a bite out of her apple and shrugged like it really was that simple.  
‘Okay so let’s say that, hypothetically, I did ask Jace out? How would I do it? I have literally zero experience and I’m not exactly the world’s smoothest talker when he’s around.’  
‘Well, I’d I argue with that but I have a policy against lying to my friends. You know I bet Alec knows all about how to date someone from another house. You should talk to him about it, get some genuinely useful advice.’  
‘Clary Fray that might actually help. You are a genius.’  
‘I try my best,’ they shared a smile and soon found themselves moving on to talking about things that didn’t involve Simon’s catastrophic love life, mostly the charms essay that Clary had due for tomorrow but still hadn’t started.  
He didn’t get the chance to talk to Alec until almost a week later and during that time he only saw Jace once outside of classes and it totally wasn’t because he was avoiding the other boy but completely due to the fact that he’d just been completely swamped with this DADA essay and that care of magical creatures reading that he’d just had no spare time what so ever. But just as he started to run out of excuses to make to himself, he was sat relaxing in the common room when Alec came in and sat in the armchair next to his. After about five minutes of trying to psych himself up, he was saved the trouble of initiating when Alec turned to him with a moderately over-dramatic eye-roll.  
‘Simon, I’m not going to bite you, just ask what you want to ask,’  
‘oh, erm, well, I wanted to ask about Jace and before you stop me I know it’s awkward because he’s basically your brother but I just thought that because of you and Magnus you’d know a bit about that kind of thing and…’  
‘Woah slow down there. Jace? You like Jace? Honestly, as much as I want the both of you to be happy I’m really not the person to talk to. Just because I’m dating Magnus doesn’t mean I have any idea how I did it. Magnus could probably help you out though he’s good at the whole advice thing.’ Alec smiled and his attention wondered for a moment as though at a pleasant memory.  
‘Thanks Alec. I’ll ask him. I hope that wouldn’t be weird for you, your boyfriend giving me advice on how to ask out your brother…’  
‘Honestly, I’m trying not to think about the detail too much, why not just do it now?’ Simon frowned in confusion, ‘He’s in the dormitories, says that his room at Slytherin is always too light and noisy at this time of day and he needed a nap,’ Alec smirked in amusement.  
‘You know what, I’m not even surprised that the two of you know how to get in and out of each other’s dormitories. Thanks again Alec,’ He stood up and headed for the 7th year’s room.  
Peaking around the door, Simon saw that the dormitory was empty of students aside from the mop of black and green hair that was visible out the top of what Simon assumed was Alec’s bed. The floor of the room was covered in clothes, books and various magical artefacts. Simon began to pick his way carefully across the room and actually managed to get halfway before he slipped and put his foot down hard on the corner of a napping copy of The Monstrous Book of Monsters whilst trying to regain his balance. The cover of the book flew open and Simon cursed loudly when he saw that whoever owned it had forgotten to clasp it shut. He leapt on top of the nearest bed, a thankfully empty one, as the book charged him, snapping. Simon suddenly became incredibly thankful that he’d done that extra care of magical creatures reading over the summer and so he had a little too much experience on how to deal with this particularly troubling volume. Crouching precariously on the edge of the bed he waited until the book began the edge out from under the bed, when it was directly below him he dropped landing on top of it. After a short struggle he had the volume sealed back up and calmed down, might even be a personal record if he did say so. Placing the book back on the floor, he looked up to see a bleary eyed but forever put together Magnus looking at him with a raised eyebrow from the bed.  
‘Solomon? Hope the book didn’t give you any trouble.’  
‘Nope, no problem. I just took it down, no biggie. Also it’s actually Simon.’  
Magnus smirked but Simon really couldn’t tell if he was genuinely impressed or just laughing at him, Slytherins were painfully difficult to read sometimes.  
‘Sorry to interrupt you but I need advice and I was going to talk to Alec but he pointed me in your direction so, here I am.’  
Magnus sat up and ran a hand through his hair before gesturing for Simon to continue.  
‘So there is a slight possibility that I might maybe have the tiniest bit of a swiftly growing crush on Jace but if you haven’t already noticed I’m the most awkward person alive and he’s this charming confident Gryffindor so I have absolutely zero idea about whether or not he genuinely likes me back. I guess that I thought that because you and Alec have this amazing relationship that you would be able to give me some advice on initiating something without making a complete and utter fool of myself…’  
‘You have come to the right place,’ Magnus stood up and rewound his tie around his neck with precise fingers, ‘though, of course, in exchange for my help I will need something from you.’  
‘Like what?’   
‘Oh nothing important, this,’ Simon yelped and moved back as Magnus reached out and yanked a small amount of hair from his head, ‘will do just nicely. The Ravenclaws are always after fresh muggle-born hair for their experimental potions and this’ll be the perfect way to keep them from going to anyone else for their supplies.’ With a wink Magnus walked out the room, waiting just outside the door to make sure that Simon was following. He strode through the common room like he belonged there ignoring both the stares from the first years and eye-rolls from the older students that were used to Magnus’ presence. The Slytherin walked up behind where Alec was still sat in the same chair Simon had left him in, now with a book in his lap, and slid the yellow and black scarf from around his neck. They shared a quick kiss before Magnus gestured for Simon to follow and went straight behind the portrait to the kitchens and the castle beyond that. Simon gaped at how natural it was for Magnus to travel in and out of a different house’s common room.  
‘So Samuel, let’s solve this problem of yours.’  
‘It’s Simon,’ he muttered half to himself as he followed behind.


	5. Chapter 5

‘Right, this is what’s going to happen, you are going to ask Jace to go for a drink at the Three Broomsticks on the Hogsmeade trip this weekend. Don’t make that face, yes you are going to be doing this in the next three days. It’ll be fine, he will almost definitely say yes.’  
Magnus had led them both through the school, across the courtyard and out to the middle of the wooden bridge. They were completely alone because, as Simon had so gracefully put it when they first arrived, no sane person would go out in the wind on such a stupidly cold evening. Magnus had just raised an eyebrow and asked if Simon wanted his help or not, so he’d stopped grumbling and gritted his teeth against the cold.   
‘And you think that just outright asking would be the best way to go,’ Simon asked, doubtful.  
‘100%, the key is to be confident when you ask but not overly cocky and probably when no one else is about then you’ll get the most honest answer.’ He paused for a moment before clearly deciding something, ‘You should do it tomorrow morning. Jace always sits alone at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, and the majority of their lot eat much earlier so there isn’t much chance of you being overheard. Plus, when he says yes, we will definitely need at least two full days to figure out what you are going to wear.’   
‘Oh okay, that’s quite soon. Less time to talk myself out of it I guess. What’s the worst that can happen?’ He had no idea if it was a genuine question or if he was just trying to convince himself this truly was a good idea.  
‘Think of it this way, if you don’t ask him then I’ll do it for you,’ With a smirk Magnus pulled Alec’s scarf tighter around his neck and headed off back to the castle, leaving Simon out in the cold. Despite the chilly temperature, he didn’t want to go back to the common room just yet, he needed to think over what on earth he could actually say to Jace tomorrow that sounded coherent enough that the other boy might go with him. He stood and looked out from the bridge, though not for too long as it really was freezing and it didn’t take long before he stopped being able to feel his feet.   
In the morning, Simon woke up with a cold. It could’ve been worse but he was sneezing every few minutes and his nose was a bright red. A couple of the boys in his dorm offered to bring him up some breakfast but he waved them away with a weak smile before rolling out of bed and pulling on his uniform, leaving his tie slung undone around his neck. If he didn’t ask Jace out today he knew he’d never do it and it was about time he pulled himself together and did something.   
Shoving a few packets of tissues into his pocket and cursing himself for staying outside longer than necessary last night he headed to breakfast. He kept his confidence right up until he reached the entrance to the hall or until he actually saw Jace, depending on which way you looked at it. Jace was sat alone at the end of the Gryffindor table that was closest to the entranceway Simon was definitely not hiding in. His blond hair kept falling over his eyes where it was free of product and Jace was pushing it back into place every few moments so he could properly focus on whatever piece of homework he was working on. He just looked so incredibly attractive that it made Simon want to go burrow himself back in bed and forget all about this doomed plan. He was sure that he, himself, looked an absolute wreck, surely Jace would take one look at him and recoil. Just as he was about to back out completely he made the mistake of glancing round the room and as a result looked over the slytherin table. He unintentionally made eye contact with Magnus where he and Alec were sat together sharing breakfast. Simon knew that Magnus could immediately tell that Simon was about to chicken out and he gave Simon look that definitely said ‘I swear to god if you don’t go over there right now, I will drag you and ask him myself!’ before he jabbed his finger at Simon and then across the room at Jace. After attempting to take some deep breaths - that quickly dissolved into a semi violent coughing fit – Simon made a final ditch effort to smooth his hair before walking into the Great Hall. He slid into the seat opposite Jace in what he hoped was a smooth fashion. The other boy looked up at him and smiled but the quirk of his lips turned to a frown when Simon violently sneezed twice.  
‘Should you be down here Si? Not to be mean but you look like shit.’ Jace picked his coffee up and took a sip but his eyes were full of concern as they took in Simon’s face.  
‘Yeah, I’m fine. Really.’ He added the last word in response to the doubtful look he received after he broke into a cough halfway through fine. ‘I just, I need to ask something and if I don’t do it right now I’m scared that I’ll never get the courage up again.’ He kept his face dead serious and gave Jace a moment to realise he wasn’t joking before he continued. ‘Would you get a drink with me? This weekend on the Hogsmeade trip and not in the friends kind of way, in the - I want to be more than friends with you kind of way.’ Simon held his breath, for the first time in his life he’d just bared his heart on his sleeve and handed Jace the ability to tear him apart from the inside out. Jace looked shocked, he froze for a moment before understanding flooded his eyes. He looked so insanely surprised and happy but after a second his vision became clouded.   
‘I can’t go to Hogsmeade.’ He paused for a moment but started talking again immediately when he saw Simon’s entire body drop. ‘Not that that means I don’t want to go out somewhere with you! I just can’t leave the castle, I did this thing and all my Hogsmeade privileges have been revoked until Christmas. Why don’t we do something a little closer to home instead?’  
Simon felt a little dizzy after flipping from what was basically one extreme to another. ‘So that’s a yes then… even if we stay at the castle…?’  
‘Yes Simon, I would like to go on a date with you.’ Jace smirked a little but his eyes were soft and the look he was giving Simon made the other boy feel warm all the way to his toes. ‘How about we go for a walk and then see where we end up? I’ll meet you outside the Hufflepuff common room at say 11 on Saturday after everyone’s left?’  
‘Great, that’s perfect.’ Simon suddenly found himself unable to stop grinning despite the headache that was slowly beginning to manifest all along his forehead.   
‘Now you better go back to bed and get better because I am not remembering our first date as you coughing everywhere and having eyes so watery you can’t see all the amazing things we will no doubt discover.’ Jace then took Simon completely by surprise by reaching into his bag and pulling out his Red and Gold Gryffindor scarf. He reached across the table and wrapped it around Simon’s neck, before gathering up his things. ‘11am, Saturday. Don’t you dare forget,’ and with another one of those small but genuine smiles he was gone leaving Simon stunned. He only moved after a particularly forceful sneeze forced his body to shift. Begrudgingly, He resigned himself to a day of falling further and further into the growing mountain of tissues that had taken up residence on his bedside table, though he didn’t stop grinning all the way back to the common room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've had a super busy week and kind of disappeared but i'm back now so here's an update! This ones got Raphael in it cause he's been suffering so much in the new episodes i wanted to write him being something other than bone-crushingly sad. Comment what you think.

A whole load of sleep and an unspecified amount of tissue packets later, Simon was back on his feet and emerging into the common room. He still had Jace’s scarf wrapped loosely round his neck, using the excuse that he needed to keep warm in order to get healthy as soon as possible. When he entered the common room he got more than a few curious glances from the other students but he really didn’t feel up to talking to anyone so he just headed straight through to the kitchens in search of a hot drink. It was around midday on Thursday so chances are the kitchens would be empty (or so he hoped) aside from the house elves who were always more than happy to help out any students but were especially eager around their Hufflepuff visitors. However, as Simon closed the cupboard door that hid the passageways exit he heard a loud clattering from round the corner followed by a loud string of Spanish cursing. Recognising the voice, Simon headed towards the other student but stuttered to a halt when he turned the corner. Raphael Santiago, dark threatening kind of scary Raphael Santiago, was looking down at a bowl of food that had been knocked onto the floor, its contents spilled out everywhere. Simon must have made some sort of noise because Raphael looked up from where he’d been despairing at the spillage and immediately began to clear it up as though he could stop Simon from seeing what was already blindingly obvious.   
‘You were cooking?’ Raphael looked up then and Simon could see the battle in his eyes about whether it was worth denying. He evidently decided that Simon wasn’t worth lying too but he watched Simon intensely as though unsure of how he’d react.  
‘Yeah, my sister and I used to cook every Sunday but now I’m away so I just cook when I miss her and my family.’  
Raphael’s awkwardness hung in the air between them so Simon moved quickly and began to help clearing up the food from the floor in an effort to diffuse the tension. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt Raphael relax next to him and they worked together to clear up. Unfortunately, whatever Raphael had been making was completely unsalvageable, no matter how tasty it smelt, and they were both too tired to start over. Instead they found themselves sat in two rickety stools in the corner of the kitchen sipping at hot chocolates. Simon kept glancing at Raphael just to confirm to himself that he wasn’t hallucinating but then he realised that there was no way he was creative enough to imagine Raphael drinking a hot chocolate whilst swinging his legs slightly where they didn’t reach the floor.  
‘So Jace said yes then,’ Raphael smirked and gestured at the scarf that was still slung around Simon’s neck.   
‘How’d you know its Jace’s?’  
‘Please, Magnus and I are friends and you coming to him for help is the only thing other than Alec he’s talked to me about in forever. You too are a cute match, that guy could do with someone nice to take his ego down a few notches.’   
Despite wanting to retort to that comment, Simon swallowed his pride and took a drink from his mug instead. ‘It’s all great and everything but I’ve been stuck in bed for the past day and we are meeting the day after tomorrow and I haven’t a clue what to wear.’  
‘Well your wardrobe is abysmal, you are welcome to borrow something of mine,’  
Simon looked sideways in an attempt to spot if Raphael was joking or not but his face was as unreadable as ever. Goddamn Slytherins and their perfectly neutral poker faces. Deciding that he really did need advice and quite possibly borrowed clothes he opted to call Raphael’s bluff and take him up on that,  
‘You know I just might, anything you’d wilfully offer up?’  
Raphael smirked at Simon and hopped up off his stool, placing his mug on the countertop, ‘Oh I’m sure we will find something.’ He then headed out the room leaving Simon wondering if all Slytherins continuously made dramatic exits or whether it was just Magnus and Raphael. He really had spent an awful lot of time following people to unknown places in the castle lately.


	7. Chapter 7

‘Wait, where are we going?’ Simon turned towards Raphael when he noticed they were walking towards the lake.  
‘Slytherin, of course,’ Raphael had a way of talking that made Simon feel like he was the stupidest person the other boy had ever interacted with, it became a little clearer why Raphael wasn’t a favourite among the Hufflepuffs. ‘We need access to a decent wardrobe and I’m fairly certain we won’t find one in Hufflepuff.’   
‘But we’re at the lake.’ Simon frowned down into the murky water as he leaned over the bank they’d just reached the edge of. The water a few feet below looked disgusting, dark and murky with knotted weed all across the surface. He looked up at Raphael questioningly and then watched in shock as the boy smirked at him before he stepped off the bank and plunged towards the water. But there was no splash, Simon could’ve sworn that Raphael disappeared before he even hit the water. After little contemplation and having come to the conclusion that this was probably a terrible idea he moved to the banks edge and took a deep breath before following him off.  
‘This shit never used to happen in America.’ He closed his eyes tightly.  
Having prepared himself for the cold water of the lake he wasn’t ready to hit a solid floor a little later than the anticipated impact. The surprise caused his legs to buckle a little and he dropped to his knees whilst cursing his natural clumsiness. He looked up to see Raphael chuckling at him with his arms folded,  
‘Come on, before someone sees you falling through the back entrance like a first year who was too scared to step through without being pushed,’ He turned away from Simon and began walking down the short hallway.  
Simon clambered to his feet, still slightly shocked by the fact that his clothes were actually dry, and caught up to Raphael quickly as they entered the back of the Slytherin common room. At this point he wasn’t even surprised that Slytherin had a secret back entrance that required you to pretend to jump into nauseatingly horrible water, they probably thought it was funny. He suddenly became incredibly self-conscious of both his crumpled yellow robes and Gryffindor scarf. They stuck out like a sore thumb in the greens and blacks of the common room. He moved further behind Raphael but clearly not quick enough as body moved between him and the door to the dormitories.  
‘So what’s that prick of a Gryffindor’s little American arm piece doing down here then?’  
Simon looked up and made eye contact briefly but flicked his gaze away after he’d confirmed the boy’s identity in an effort to avoid any real confrontation.   
‘I don’t want any trouble Morgenstern,’ he had enough practice when it came to dealing with the idiotic 6th year Slytherin since he’d successfully disarmed him in front of the whole of duelling club during the first week of October. He usually found the best plan of action was to just diffuse the situation as quickly as possible, even if that meant not standing up to the asshole. He moved to step between Sebastian and the wall in order to get past but upon reaching the midway point he was swung round and slammed up against it, knocking his glasses to the floor. The cold of the bricks was seeping through his robes and chilling his back unpleasantly but he didn’t let it show as he returned Sebastian’s steely glare.   
‘If you didn’t want trouble, then you wouldn’t have come down here wearing that scarf and with only the new kid to watch your back.’ Glancing over Sebastian’s shoulder Simon watched as a few 6th years pulled Raphael back from where he’d moved to help Simon. His friend was snapping and swearing at them and struggled forcefully when they took his wand from within his robes. Raphael wasn’t going to be able to help him anytime soon. The rest of the common room had emptied out aside from several fifth and sixth years who were watching the events like they were a particularly exciting film. Sebastian had his forearm pushed up against Simon’s throat and he deeply regretted not exercising more as he tried desperately to pull it away. He knew that he couldn’t genuinely be hurt because that’d get Sebastian into lasting trouble but that didn’t mean he was going to enjoy getting hit repeatedly everywhere his robes would easily cover.   
‘Maybe this will remind you to stay out of Slytherin territory,’ Sebastian swung his knee hard into Simon’s stomach, knocking the wind from his lungs. The arm stayed in place across his throat so he was forced to stay straight despite the reflex to double over. Just as a second hit was about to land on his ribs there was a flash of light and suddenly Sebastian was 6 feet in the air, frozen. All eyes in the room snapped to the door to reveal Magnus stepping out of the entrance way, his wand held out lazily in Sebastian’s direction.  
‘You know its people like you that give Slytherin such a bad rep,’ Magnus’ voice was low with anger but Simon smirked at the way the previously confident lackeys were now clearly nervous about the presence of an older, smarter student. He wrapped an arm around his stomach and moved away from the wall as Raphael stepped free of the now loosened hands. The student that had been holding his wand visibly flinched at his deathly glare as he snatched it back and Simon smiled a little when Raphael ignored the jerky movement and straightened his torn robes with a disapproving frown. Magnus moved into the room and twitched his wand slightly causing Sebastian to spin slightly in the air.  
‘You alright boys?’ He asked without looking away from his target.  
‘No, I just got these robes and these things are damn expensive,’  
‘Yes, we’re fine,’ Simon resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Raphael.  
Magnus raised an eyebrow before muttering a soft, ‘Liberacorpus’ and Sebastian dropped inelegantly to the ground. He glared at the three of them as he stood and whipped the blood away from where his lip had split when it hit the floor. Instead of looking for more trouble, he spat at their feet and slunk out into the castle without looking back. The few that remained in the room quickly tried to look like they hadn’t been avidly watching the events unfold so as to avoid Magnus’ wrath. Magnus himself slipped his wand back away and swung around with a swish of his robes and headed for the dormitories.  
‘You’re here for some decent clothes, correct? I can’t believe you were planning on doing this without me.’ The two younger boys followed him to the 6th year dorm room and Simon sat on what he assumed was Raphael’s bed and watched as Magnus attempted to empty every piece of clothing the other boy’s trunk held onto the floor while Raphael fretted about trying to keep everything neatly folded and in order.   
The next hour became a blur to Simon as Magnus and Raphael got him to try on everything from three-piece suits to t-shirts and jeans that Simon could never picture Raphael willingly wearing. Their wand’s waving as they flattened the creases out of everything. At around the 20 minute mark, Alec showed up (clearly used to slipping in and out of the Slytherin common room) and at first tried to help but even Simon could see that his sense of style was in need of almost as much aid as his own. Eventually he just sat down on the bed and pulled out some textbooks though Simon wasn’t sure how much studying he actually did because he seemed to spend more time watching Magnus glide around the room than looking at his books.  
Eventually, they paused for a moment and just looked, not immediately saying no and getting Simon to change into something different. He was wearing smart black jeans with a white t-shirt that was slightly more fitted than the shirts Simon was used to, over the top he had a floral suit jacket with black sleeves. The pattern wasn’t something he’d usually have worn but the black background with the white and red colouring was tasteful in a way Simon hadn’t anticipated. He did a small turn with his arms half raised in an attempt to relieve himself of the awkwardness that came with having two people staring at him.  
‘That’s the one,’   
Alec raised his eyes at Magnus’ words and his gaze widened in surprise when he looked at Simon. ‘You look good Lewis,’ he smirked, ‘you should get out of those band shirts more often.’ He stood up and lent over Magnus’ shoulders, placing a light kiss on his cheek before turning back to look at Simon.   
‘I’ll let you have it for the weekend but, you tear that jacket I will tear your face. I literally just got it.’ Simon spun towards Raphael in alarm but was relieved to see a satisfied smile drifting across his face. He took off the clothes and placed them carefully inside a bag that Magnus pulled out of the air. His robes felt nicely familiar after all the foreign fabrics but he liked the style of the borrowed clothes. After thanking Magnus and Raphael deeply and promising to tell them both exactly how the next day went (Alec made it clear he did not want to know if his adoptive brother was a good kisser), he held the bag carefully and slipped through the common room back to the castle, luckily Sebastian wasn’t anywhere in sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise that there will actually be more Jimon in the next chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

Simon first went back to the dormitories and slid the clothes bag under his bed before collapsing in his preferred arm chair in front of the fire in the common room. It was usually empty because it was practically threadbare and the colour was fading but it reminded Simon of the chair he’d spent hours on the edge of in his garage back when he first started to self-teach guitar. Trying to distract himself from the nerves of the next day he looked around the room for a much needed distraction. For a Friday there was a surprising lack of energy, there were a couple of small group studying at various tables and a giggling group of first year girls crowding round a letter that one of them had gripped tightly in her hands. Simon checked his watch and sighed upon realising it was only 7pm and there was no way he could just go to bed now and not risk repeatedly waking up in the early morning. He stayed put for a while but gradually grew more and more restless and fidgety until the 4th year girl reading a book in the chair next to his snapped it shut and threatened to ‘perform the Incarcarous she was studying and bind him still in the damn thing.’ Instead of risking her wrath he jumped up and went to grab his jacket from the dormitories before heading out into the castle. It was a reasonably chilly evening but the rain of the day had finally stopped so quite a few people were out despite the cold air. Simon pulled his jacket tighter around his shoulders and regretted not at least bringing a scarf too. He walked everywhere he could think in an effort to expel the nervous energy from his limbs. He stayed almost constantly on the move until he realised the castle was silent around him. A glance at his phone told him it was 9:55 meaning he was at the opposite end of the castle to Hufflepuff and there were only 5 minutes until curfew. 

‘Shit’ 

He took off running. Normally he wouldn’t have worried about being a few minutes late but the fasted way back meant looping through the corridors where there were rarely teachers so no one would stop him running or tell him off for being caught out so close to curfew. The slight diversion took him past the stairs that lead to the dungeons and he’d learned the hard way that Sebastian’s main lackey (an unbearably snotty 5th year Simon hadn’t bothered to learn the name of) was the prefect on duty after 10pm on Fridays and he could really do without having to talk his way out of being punched the night before his first real date. He sprinted through the corridors not slowing down until he reached the entrance to Hufflepuff, he panted out the password before heading inside, hand putting half his weight onto the wall. He got a few weird looks for his deep breathing but he ignored them all and made his way to bed. He tugged off his pants and jacket before chucking them in the general direction of his trunk and collapsing into bed. Still far too restless to sleep, Simon pulled his laptop from below the bed and plugged in his headphones. His unclosed Netflix tab was still open (Simon had been in awe when he found out the wizarding world had a spell for infinite battery) and he clicked play allowing himself to be sucked into fictional worlds and finally getting his mind off of the butterflies in the pit of his stomach.   
Simon groaned inwardly and rolled over at the sound of his alarm, 9:30, an hour and a half to go, definitely long enough for five more minutes in bed. He wasn’t going to go to sleep, just relax for a moment because there was no reason to get up yet.

Simon woke up and jerked the second he realised he’d fallen back asleep, scrabbling to sit up he grabbed his phone from the bedside table and checked the time. 10:35. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Spewing a number of far more aggressive curses Simon dashed to the shower and washed in record time before performing a quick crease removing spell and pulling on the borrowed clothes (the shirt twice as the first time around it was inside out with the label waving around). Luckily, most people were already out of the dorms or still asleep and Simon only had to slide past a couple of people as he hurried around. Coming to a standstill in front of a full length mirror at 10:45 he paused for a moment to straighten everything out and he carefully flattened his messy bedhead. He opted to go without his glasses and instead slid in his contacts; he didn’t usually like to wear them but today felt deserving of something special. When he was finished Simon was genuinely pleased, he wasn’t normally one to appreciate his own appearance but in that moment he might even dare say that he looked almost handsome. He was also insanely proud that he’d achieved this by 10:53, even if he was going to have to sacrifice breakfast. It wasn’t like he ate most mornings anyway.

When he arrived outside the Gryffindor tower it was still a couple of minutes until 11 and Simon spotted Clary chatting to Maia and made a beeline for the pair so he wouldn’t have to awkwardly hover outside a different houses common room. 

‘Simon!’ Clary gathered Simon into a tight hug, jumping up onto her toes and tugging his head over her shoulder. When she finally pulled back they shared a grin while Maia reached between them and straightened out Simon’s jacket for him.

‘You look good Simon, who are you all dressed up for?’ Maia’s tone was teasing but still genuinely curious,

Clary jumped in before Simon could even open his mouth, ‘Haven’t you heard? He’s got a date with Jace! And Maia’s right, you do look good. I swear Si if he brushes you off just drop a hint and I will destroy him’

‘No offense Fray but I feel like I’m being threatened by a cupcake or something.’

Simon and Clary turned quickly to face Jace, Maia just smirked knowingly clearly having seen him approach. 

‘Don’t underestimate me Jace, and don’t you dare hurt him.’ Clary placed a reassuring hand on Simon’s arm before her and Maia left the two boys alone.

Jace looked good. That is to say, he look even better than usual. He was wearing black jeans and a white Henley. His hair was free of product and falling forward slightly over the side of his face. 

‘Hey,’ now it was just the two of them Simon felt incredibly shy. Even though they’d been alone together before, this time felt different. He suddenly wished he’d opted to wear his glasses so they’d provide some form of barrier between him and the world. 

Jace smiled at him, eyes soft, ‘hey,’ he reached a hand up and pushed his hair back only to have it fall forward again nearly as far as before, ‘you look good without your glasses, I can see all of that handsome face of yours now. So where do you want to go?’

Simon couldn’t help but grin even if it was while looking down at his feet but the question made him hesitate, ‘Umm I don’t know. I wasn’t sure what you’d want to- I didn’t think- I’m sorry I should’ve-.’

Jace grinned, ‘Woah slow down Si, don’t worry, I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t have plans, I’ve got an idea.’

Simon relaxed, ‘Oh yeah? And what’s that?’

With a smirk Jace started to walk backwards down the corridor slow enough for Simon to react and catch up, ‘It’s a surprise,’


	9. Chapter 9

Simon returned his smile as he took a couple of quick steps forward and drew level with Jace. ‘I guess I’ll just have to trust you then.’

Though Jace was leading the way, they walked next to each other away from Gryffindor tower.

‘So Simon, I feel like I know next to nothing about you aside from the fact that you’re a muggle born who is in love with music.’

‘Well at least I’ve got the excuse of being the new kid, no one knows anything about you aside from telling me to ask Izzy and Alec. Who are your brother and sister even though you have different surnames? What’s the story behind that Mr Mysterious?’

‘So you’ve been asking people about me?’ Jace asked with a playful smirk but he frowned slightly afterwards as though he had wanted the question to come out teasing and was surprised at how much it betrayed his genuine interest. 

Despite the red that threatened to flood up his neck, Simon pushed down his embarrassment. ‘Yeah I have. All anyone had to comment on was how devastatingly handsome you are, though Maia did mention that she was suspicious about the natural colour of your hair.’ 

Jace’s insecurity melted away as he landed back on comfortable ground. He put a hand across his own chest in mock offense, ‘Well you tell Maia that my hair is naturally this golden.’

They shared a laugh. As his chuckle drifted into a small smile Simon looked up and they made eye contact, he startled slightly. Jace had a look in his eyes that reflected the same warmth and adoration that Simon felt swell in his chest whenever he was so much as in the same room as the other boy. The blatant emotion in Jace’s gaze would have made him uncomfortable in any other situation but something about that moment allowed him to keep eye contact for a few precious moments before his gaze flicked back to the floor a little way ahead.

‘In answer to your question,’ Jace pushed his hands deep into his pockets as he spoke, ‘the Lightwoods adopted me when I was born. My dad was killed and two days later my mother died giving birth to me on the side of the road whilst attempting to flee the wizard who killed my father. They never caught the guy who did it but I’m okay, the Lightwoods raised me as their own. They are, in every way that really counts, my family.’

‘I’m so sorry Jace,’ Simon suddenly felt wretched for ever having broached the subject, ‘I had no idea.’

‘I don’t tell people because I don’t want be known as the kid with no parents who uses sarcasm and flirting just to deflect away from what happened,’ he laughed without humour. ‘I’m like that regardless of my so called ‘traumatic backstory’ I don’t need everyone around me constantly sticking me with labels because they don’t know how else to deal with my amazing personality.’

They stopped walking for a moment as they reached an archway that lead to the outside. Jace moved his eyes from where they had been trained forwards and turned a little, looking at Simon. Neither of them said anything. Simon had no idea how to start but he knew that whatever he said or didn’t say next would be important. 

He took a breath, ‘Jace, I am a strong believer that labels are for clothes and I would never simplify everything that makes you under a piece of paper and a psychiatrist’s signature. You are witty and sarcastic but also incredibly sweet when you allow yourself to be. I want to get to know you and that means everything: the good and the bad and the in-between. Neither of us are perfect, that’s what makes us human.’ 

‘God you’re amazing,’ Jace reached up and used the end of his sleeve to wipe a small tear out of the corner of his eye. He looked for a moment like he was about to say something else but his eyes shifted and he slid into an easy grin. ‘Anyway, it’s meant to start raining pretty soon and we have plans that require dry skies so we’ve got to go,’   
Simon gasped as Jace reached across and grabbed his hand, grinning he let himself be dragged into a run.  
Finally, Jace seemed to forget about how he was ‘supposed’ to act when other people could see. Simon’s smile widened at the unapologetic happiness on Jace’s face as the two of them raced through the grounds with their hands gripped tightly together. He could see people looking but he didn’t care because it didn’t matter - he was here, with Jace, in front of the world and the other boy’s grin was filled with as much joy as his own.

They finally came to a stop just outside the Quidditch Pitch and Simon put a hand on Jace’s shoulder for support as he took a few deep breaths. He was sure that he looked a mess after the run but somehow Jace appeared even more handsome with the slight flush across his cheeks and dishevelled hair.

‘You’re insane! You pull me on a run through the whole school, down to a pitch where we can’t even get access to anything because all the equipment is locked up so we are just going to have to walk right back up this hill again.’ He raised an eyebrow in question.  
‘Simon, your underestimation of my intelligence truly wounds me. I do know how to plan ahead on occasion.’ As if on cue (and who knows maybe he was waiting patiently for a good entrance line) Alec ducked out of one of the side entrances holding two standard issue brooms.   
‘He’s right you know Jace, you are insane. Also remember, you two get caught you never saw me and you broke in and stole the brooms yourselves.’

‘Naturally. I’m proud of you Alec, you never would’ve even considered breaking the rules a couple of years ago. Maybe it’s Magnus’ influence?’

Alec just rolled his eyes and handed over the brooms to Jace before heading back up the hill mumbling something about ‘irritating little brothers’ and ‘do your own thievery’. Jace smirked after him before refocusing his attention back on Simon and offering him a broom.

‘So Lewis? How’re your flying skills?’

Simon hesitantly took the offered broom, he could fly but he was no master and had spent most of his first year falling from varying heights until he’d finally managed to figure out the art of balancing when higher than three feet from the ground. He told Jace this but the other boy remained completely undeterred. He climbed aboard his own broom and twisted into the air with ease, stopping and hovering a couple of feet in the air. The guy was a beater on the goddamn Gryffindor team, what exactly did Simon expect? He awkwardly clambered aboard his own broom and drifted slowly into the air. 

Gradually, over the next half an hour or so, Simon began to relax and even started to have a little fun. They whipped around the empty Quidditch pitch, Jace teasing him every time he wobbled and almost over balanced and each time it looked as though he might actually fall the other boy was always there with a hand on his arm for support. Simon found himself smiling uncontrollably as he watched Jace fly about upside down and spin in circles. He suddenly ceased his antics though and called something across the pitch.

‘WHAT?’ Simon yelled back.

Jace flew a little closer, ‘I SAID CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!’ Simon gaped as the other boy suddenly turned and raced off out over the stands.

‘JACE! WAIT, WE CAN’T LEAVE THE PITCH! WHAT IF SOMEONE- oh fuck it.’ And he raced off in pursuit as quickly as he could with his limited skill. 

He found Jace hovering over the end of the great lake furthest from the castle, where no one could easily spot them. The sunlight sparkled on the surface of the water and Jace’s hair was shining along with it. Simon cautiously flew forward until they were directly opposite each other. Jace’s hair had fallen over his eyes and Simon reached up and carefully pushed it back for him, aware of how terribly cliché the move was but beyond caring. He couldn’t tear his eyes away as Jace slowly drifted closer so that they were hovering with their noses a hairbreadth apart. Simon’s breath was hitching, there was no way- was he going to- god Simon wanted him too- there was no way he had the guts to initiate- but he couldn’t waste this- and then Jace’s lips were on his and the whole world fell away. Fireworks coursed through his veins as Jace cupped his face with both hands and buried his fingers deep in his hair. Simon recovered quickly and returned the kiss, leaning forward and spreading one hand on Jace’s hip and the other splayed over his chest. It felt like everything he’d ever wanted but simultaneously promised entrance to all the dreams he didn’t even know he had. He leaned further and further forward, forgetting everything inside of their bubble until he suddenly came back to himself and felt his broom shifting in the opposite direction to his body weight. 

‘Jace,’ he’d never sounded so wiped out in his life.

They made eye-contact for a moment and Simon’s focus allowed him to pinpoint the exact moment the other boy realised what was about to happen. A second later, Simon toppled forward and they both tumbled down into the murky water with a splash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming soon: Both Jace and Simon are able to swim and Raphael is grumpy because there's no way he can wash lake stench out of this jacket.  
> Comment thoughts please.


	10. Chapter 10

Simon collapsed on the bank of the lake, exhausted after having to swim back to shore whilst dragging his broom. Despite the chill, he couldn’t stop grinning. Jace had kissed him. He’d kissed him and it had been incredible. He glanced over and started to laugh when he saw Jace sitting next to him looking surprisingly similar to a kicked puppy as he pulled off a shoe and tipped out excess water. They made eye-contact and within a moment dissolved into violent fits of laughter. Simon fell backwards and lay his head down in the grass along the side of the bank and felt Jace do the same beside him. Feeling daring, Simon reached a hand across and teased Jace’s fingers with his own until the other boy turned his wrist and allowed their palms to slide together.

‘You know Simon, I never thought someone like you would ever really like me. I always had so many people wrapped around my little finger but the smart people, the people I could imagine one day opening up to, always took one look at me and put as much difference between us as possible.’

Simon rolled himself up and placed a hand on either side of Jace’s head. ‘Well you are a cocky bastard.’ He leaned down and kissed Jace lightly, ‘but you’re my cocky bastard.’ Kiss to his forehead, ‘so you’d better stop talking about what a terrible person you are.’ Kiss on his nose, ‘because I’m never going to run out of ways to prove you wrong, so you may as well give up.’

Jace smiled up at him and leaned in for another kiss, ‘well I guess you’re going to have to demonstrate some of those ways if you want me to believe you.’  
Simon grinned wider.

Epilogue 1

‘I swear to god Simon you are never borrowing my clothes again, do you know how difficult it is to get this type of stain out of these jackets?’

‘I don’t care Raphael, you couldn’t give me anything to take back last night.’ Simon jerked back, narrowly avoiding the cushion that had been launched at his face.

‘I get it, Jace snuck you into Gryffindor tower. You’ve told me a thousand times, I don’t need or want to hear the details. If you must rant about anything tell me about the romantic stuff not the rest of it.’ Raphael rolled his eyes.

‘I swear Raph it was amazing. He’s amazing. Did I thank you for the clothes? The clothes were amazing. It was all just so brilliant. I can’t believe it. I’m so goddamn lucky.’ 

‘Yes, yes. You too are made for each other. Now please leave so I can get started on my washing.’

‘Why can’t you just use your wand?’

‘You can’t just use magic on fabrics like these Lewis. I just got this jacket. A spell could ruin it.’ His voice turned soft for a rare moment, ‘I’m glad you and Jace are grossly in love, even if I had to suffer the loss of a jacket. He’s probably missing you already.’

Epilogue 2 

‘Jace you need to relax, they’re going to love you.’

‘But what if they don’t Si? What do Nomags look for in their families boyfriends? How should I act? Should I have brought something more than flowers?’

Simon reached up and turned Jace to face him, ‘Just be the you that you are when we are together. They will love you. And hey, if they don’t it doesn’t change a thing between me and you. I’m going to knock on the door now.’

Finally Jace didn’t try to stop him when he reached up and knocked on the door. Simon smiled fondly as he watched the other boy carefully straighten his tie for the hundredth time. Jace had been so skittish at first at the idea of meeting Simon’s mum and sister and they’d dropped the idea for a while but just before the summer Simon had convinced him that there was no way they wouldn’t love him. When they’d organised this dinner Rebecca had been so excited about the prospect meeting Simon’s wizard boyfriend that she’d insisted on them waiting until she was home from university to have him over for the first time. It was sweet, how anxious Jace had been all day and the amount of questions he’d been asking about mundane traditions. He sent Simon 20 different of pictures of flowers demanding Simon tell him which were his mother’s favourites. They’d travelled separately but had met up out the front of his families’ semi-detached house where they’d been stood for the past 15 minutes whilst Simon tried to knock on the door and Jace repeatedly stopped him so he could ask more questions.

The door opened and Simon was pulled from his thoughts when his mum wrapped him up in a tight hug. He’d seen her just that morning but ever since he’d gone away to school his mum had been hugging him whenever she got the chance, he really didn’t mind it though. They pulled apart and Simon’s mother turned to face the other boy.

‘You must be the infamous Jace Herondale, Simon makes you sound like the stuff of legends.’ 

Simon chuckled at Jace’s slightly startled look at being swept up into a tight hug. ‘It’s lovely to meet you Mrs Lewis.’ When they separated he offered out the flowers.

His mum accepted them before shooting Simon a smile, ‘I like him already and please call me Elaine, I can’t stand formality where it isn’t needed. Come in boys and make yourselves at home, dinner will be ready shortly.’

Simon felt Jace physically relax beside him and he smiled as their hands slid together when they entered the house. Growing up Simon had always imagined what it would be like to bring his own Prince Charming back to meet his family but Jace, Jace was far better than anyone he’d ever dreamed of falling for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> et fini.


End file.
